Russian military plane crash in Syria kills 39

A Russian military transport plane has crashed upon landing at Hmeimim air base near Latakiain, Syria, killing all the 33 passengers and six crew members.

Russian Defense Ministry was quoted by local media as saying that the Antonov An-26 aircraft was not fired upon when the incident took place on 6 March 2018.

Preliminary investigations have indicated that a technical glitch may have caused the crash, reported the BBC.

“The ministry has already started an inquiry into the crash, which occurred after the aircraft hit the ground when it was more than 1,600ft away from the runway at Hmeimim air base.”

The ministry has already started an inquiry into the crash, which occurred after the aircraft hit the ground when it was more than 1,600ft away from the runway at Hmeimim air base.

Hmeimim is operated by Russia as a main base for air strikes on militant groups in Syria.

The latest crash is in a series of recent accidents involving significant casualties among Russians in Syria.

Since Russia started its military attack in Syria from September 2015 until early this year, around 46 civilians have been estimated to be killed. However, some analysts had suspected that the number of public casualties is higher.

The Antonov An-26 aircraft is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft, which was manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.

According to aviation accidents monitoring database Aviation Security Network, over the last 30 years, more than 140 such aircraft have been involved in accidents, causing approximately 1,300 casualties.